Prepare to see Han shoot Greedo on the big screen again. For years, we thought it could never happen. But now we know for certain — the 50th anniversary theatrical release of the original Star Wars will indeed be George Lucas’ original cut from 1977, not available commercially since 2006. The original Star Wars movie hasn’t had a wide theatrical release in over forty years. But, according to the Star Wars official site, the original version of Star Wars blasts its way back into movie theaters for a limited release on February 19, 2027. This happens almost thirty years to the day that Star Wars: A New Hope: Special Edition was released theatrically to huge financial success.
Rumors of a restored version of the original Star Wars have been circulating online for months. This came on the heels of a rare restored print of the original Star Wars coming to light. That print screened in the U.K. last year. We think the original Star Wars movie heading to theaters could be the same print, but maybe even further restoration happened for a mass release. For decades, George Lucas has said that he would never release his original cut of Star Wars, which he has felt was not his true vision. In fact, when he released the trilogy on VHS in 1995, the tagline was “The original, one last time.” Well, maybe not so fast with that “One last time” bit.
The original release date for the Star Wars re-release was April 30, 2027. But could this be a separate release of a different version of the film? The announcement says this “newly restored version of the classic Star Wars (1977) theatrical release” will have a limited release in our modern movie theaters. It could be that the pre-A New Hope version comes out in February. Then maybe the Special Edition will get a wider release, as that version would be easier to translate into IMAX. In any event, this is a seismic event for the Star Wars brand, as we’ll finally be able to revisit one of the most iconic movies ever made in its original, unaltered form… Just the way audiences originally fell in love with it. Watch this space…after all, there might be a looming Death Star in it.